What's the first position the Bills draft in 2026?

[DrDawkinstein]

13 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

Little off topic but I could see a SB victory w out Cook contributing pretty easily tbh

 

That's why for me you can't pay RBs...he's a nice piece not a centerpiece 

 

No offense, but all this tells me is you have a vivid imagination.

 

Has anyone won a Super Bowl without major contribution from a run game?

 

And Cook already was a centerpiece of our offense last year. One of our best offenses yet. And only Josh touched the ball more than Cook. Cook got the highest amount of rushing attempts of any RB in McD's entire tenure.

[GoBills808]

2 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

No offense, but all this tells me is you have a vivid imagination.

 

Has anyone won a Super Bowl without major contribution from a run game?

 

And Cook already was a centerpiece of our offense last year. One of our best offenses yet. And only Josh touched the ball more than Cook. Cook got the highest amount of rushing attempts of any RB in McD's entire tenure.

we still have davis and johnson. there is no scenario where James Cook is your make or break player

 

 

[uticaclub]

Knox is probably cut after this year and Kincaid is trending toward bust. I’m surprised no one else voted TE

[DrDawkinstein]

8 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

we still have davis and johnson. there is no scenario where James Cook is your make or break player

 

 

 

It was at the end of the KC game last year so that's already been proven. He was having a great game, the coaches keep him off the field, our drive goes no where.

 

Davis and Johnson are no Cook. Not even combined. Neither can break a 45+ yard run, take it to the house, and turn a game around on one play like he can.

[GoBills808]

4 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

It was at the end of the KC game last year so that's already been proven. He was having a great game, the coaches keep him off the field, our drive goes no where.

 

Davis and Johnson are no Cook. Not even combined. Neither can break a 45+ yard run, take it to the house, and turn a game around on one play like he can.

we're talking about the same Cook, right

 

there are like 3 rbs in the league that are essential to their offense. james cook is not one of them sorry

[Kirby Jackson]

5 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Since Josh Allen only 9 of 24 picks in the first three rounds have been offense and THREE of those have been running back. 

 

That means since drafting Josh only SIX premium picks have been spent on blockers and pass catchers (I know RBs can catch passes but not their primary use).

 

Ford, Knox, Brown, Kincaid, Torrence and Coleman for those wondering.

WOW!! That’s so gross. Not that I want you to do more research but I wonder how that compares to Lamar, Burrow and Mahomes? I know that they all were in different years and had different amounts of picks but I’ll bet it’s higher than 25%. 

[GoBills808]

3 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

WOW!! That’s so gross. Not that I want you to do more research but I wonder how that compares to Lamar, Burrow and Mahomes? I know that they all were in different years and had different amounts of picks but I’ll bet it’s higher than 25%. 

pretty sure the Ravens have drafted Bateman, Flowers, AND Hollywood Brown all in the first round since taking Lamar

[Kirby Jackson]

1 hour ago, SoCal Deek said:

He's drafted two starting Tight Ends and a starting WR. I’m not sure I’d call that ignoring it. 

WR, by pay, is considered one of the most important positions in football. Of those 24 picks, 1 was a WR!! That’s insane. Compare that to the other 3 elite QBs. Add Hurts in there as well as he many have him as QB5. 

Just now, GoBills808 said:

pretty sure the Ravens have drafted Bateman, Flowers, AND Hollywood Brown all in the first round since taking Lamar

Worthy, Rice, Moore and Hardman for Mahomes. Chase, Higgins and Burton for Burrow (keep in mind he went 3 drafts after Allen).

[GoBills808]

3 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

WR, by pay, is considered one of the most important positions in football. Of those 24 picks, 1 was a WR!! That’s insane. Compare that to the other 3 elite QBs. Add Hurts in there as well as he many have him as QB5. 

Worthy, Rice, Moore and Hardman for Mahomes. Chase, Higgins and Burton for Burrow (keep in mind he went 3 drafts after Allen).

yeah

 

depressing

[Kirby Jackson]

5 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

yeah

 

depressing

That’s why I’m surprised/disappointed at how Beane reacted when he was asked about it. He got so defensive. It’s a fact that he has invested less in the position than the teams with the other top QBs. WR, pass rush and OT are the next 3 most important positions in the NFL (CB probably 5th). You can have them in whatever order you want. Beane has invested less in WR than pretty much everyone and they have one of the worst groups in football. They have overcome it to date. Hopefully that continues but the other top teams have emphasized WR WAY more than the Bills.

[RoyBatty is alive]

20 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

But we dont pay RBs. So we just let a 1st rd pick walk after their rookie deal?

 

edit to add:

 

In this scenario where we are drafting a RB in the 1st because we let Cook walk, I'm already salty with Beane for finally hitting on a 2nd round pick but then letting him walk.

 

Our drafting, especially in the 1st/2nd hasnt been good enough where we can warrant letting those guys cycle out.

 

I can understand the philosophy of not paying RBs, but if that's the case then we should only pick them in the 3rd or later.

I never said anything about letting the RB walk if we draft in the first, maybe he will be so incredible he is worth paying, everoine has a price including Cook.  If Cook gets a Barkley or Henry type offer, I wouldnt match it, economics, I would let him walk .  Our recent early draft history is irrelevant to that decision.  You want to use that logic then we should trade away our first two picks every year.  I dont know why you would be salty with Beane if cook walks for an outlandish contract  but I understand the logic.

[GoBills808]

13 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

That’s why I’m surprised/disappointed at how Beane reacted when he was asked about it. He got so defensive. It’s a fact that he has invested less in the position than the teams with the other top QBs. WR, pass rush and OT are the next 3 most important positions in the NFL (CB probably 5th). You can have them in whatever order you want. Beane has invested less in WR than pretty much everyone and they have one of the worst groups in football. They have overcome it to date. Hopefully that continues but the other top teams have emphasized WR WAY more than the Bills.

heck id wager he's invested less at WR than most modern NFL front office in history

 

And I think we agree that having to overcome lack of top end talent wideout is not something to hang your hat on. Requiring never before seen efficiency to compete offensively is not sustainable 

[GunnerBill]

56 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

WOW!! That’s so gross. Not that I want you to do more research but I wonder how that compares to Lamar, Burrow and Mahomes? I know that they all were in different years and had different amounts of picks but I’ll bet it’s higher than 25%. 

 

Chiefs is 11/26 day 1 or 2 picks on offense since drafting Mahomes. Only 1 of those 11 is a running back (CEH). So 10 of 26 were OL or pass catchers (actually all WR no TE in this case).

 

Ravens 13/27 day 1 or 2 picks on offense since drafting Lamar. Of those one Running Back (Dobbins). 12 of 27 OL or pass catcher.

 

Bengals 6/18 day 1 or 2 picks on offense since drafting Burrow. Zero running backs among that. 

 

So by my rudimentary maths:

 

Total % premium draft picks on O since taking their QB:

 

1. Ravens 48%

2. Chiefs 42%

3. Bills 38%

4. Bengals 33%

 

% premium draft picks on passing game (i.e. excluding RBs) since taking their QB:

 

1. Ravens 44%

2. Chiefs 38%

3. Bengals 33%

4. Bills 25%

 

% (and number in parenthesis) of premium picks spent on WR since taking their QB

 

1. Ravens 19% (5)

2. Bengals 17% (3)

3. Chiefs 15% (4)

4. Bills 4% (1)

Edited Tuesday at 06:44 PM by GunnerBill

[SoCal Deek]

1 hour ago, Kirby Jackson said:

WR, by pay, is considered one of the most important positions in football. Of those 24 picks, 1 was a WR!! That’s insane. Compare that to the other 3 elite QBs. Add Hurts in there as well as he many have him as QB5. 

Worthy, Rice, Moore and Hardman for Mahomes. Chase, Higgins and Burton for Burrow (keep in mind he went 3 drafts after Allen).

I don’t know why this is so complicated for people. The current starting roster of offensive firepower includes Kincaid, Knox, Shakir, Coleman, Cook and Allen. That means they’ve acquired ALL but one WR via the draft! Only the WR2 position is via free agency. Of those listed above ALL of them were drafted AFTER they got Allen. You cannot compare it to other teams. Those teams have different rosters and different needs. I’m not sure what you’all want them to do? They just drafted Coleman last year for heaven’s sake! It doesn’t seem all that big of an egregious oversight to have ONE of the WR/TE/RB starting weapons come from free agency. 

[GoBills808]

51 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

I don’t know why this is so complicated for people. The current starting roster of offensive firepower includes Kincaid, Knox, Shakir, Coleman, Cook and Allen. That means they’ve acquired ALL but one WR via the draft! Only the WR2 position is via free agency. Of those listed above ALL of them were drafted AFTER they got Allen. You cannot compare it to other teams. Those teams have different rosters and different needs. I’m not sure what you’all want them to do? They just drafted Coleman last year for heaven’s sake! It doesn’t seem all that big of an egregious oversight to have ONE of the WR/TE/RB starting weapons come from free agency. 

It's not complicated at all

 

Jamarr Chase probably doesn't drop the bomb to Diggs and we have a better shot at beating the Chiefs and going to a SB in 2023

 

LaPorta probably doesn't drop the throw to Kincaid and we have a better shot at beating Chiefs and going to a SB in 2024

 

Granted he was drafted after Kincaid but the point is there's nothing wrong w wanting to get better at skill positions, especially when you have a multiplier at QB

[SoCal Deek]

9 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

It's not complicated at all

 

Jamarr Chase probably doesn't drop the bomb to Diggs and we have a better shot at beating the Chiefs and going to a SB in 2023

 

LaPorta probably doesn't drop the throw to Kincaid and we have a better shot at beating Chiefs and going to a SB in 2024

 

Granted he was drafted after Kincaid but the point is there's nothing wrong w wanting to get better at skill positions, especially when you have a multiplier at QB

All of that is true (and I’m generally a HUGE critic) but you really want to keep recycling these guys at the expense of other starting positions? And using your examples Beane has to wait until the crucial drop in the playoff game to find out every year. The Bills extended Shakir and Knox obviously thinking they’re good enough to keep. And there’s a gazillion page thread on extending Cook, on the premise that he’s also good enough to extend. Neither Coleman nor Kincaid are even out of their rookie deals! The Bills roster is chock full of drafted offensive weapons. 

[Kirby Jackson]

59 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

I don’t know why this is so complicated for people. The current starting roster of offensive firepower includes Kincaid, Knox, Shakir, Coleman, Cook and Allen. That means they’ve acquired ALL but one WR via the draft! Only the WR2 position is via free agency. Of those listed above ALL of them were drafted AFTER they got Allen. You cannot compare it to other teams. Those teams have different rosters and different needs. I’m not sure what you’all want them to do? They just drafted Coleman last year for heaven’s sake! It doesn’t seem all that big of an egregious oversight to have ONE of the WR/TE/RB starting weapons come from free agency. 

You’re the one that’s creating a story. I simply gave the numbers (and @GunnerBill did it with way more depth). The Bills have invested less at WR than other teams with elite QBs. If you think that a 5th round pick or a 7th round pick is comparable to a 1st round pick, we disagree. The success rates are massively different.
 

WR is now the 2nd most important position behind QB (according to AI). I tried to screenshot it and post it here but it’s too large so feel free to look it up yourself if you’re doubting that. TE and RB are not interchangeable with WR. The reason so many teams, and good teams like the world champs, are investing so heavily in WR early is because they are really expensive in FA and don’t change teams!! Please name me the top receivers that have changed teams over the last 5 years in FA? To get top WRs now, you need to draft them and sign them or trade an early pick for them and then sign them (like Metcalf or Brown). Here are the FA WR signings since 2021 (you need to change the year to see other signings) in FA: https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/_/year/2021/position/wr.  
 

Here is a list from 70 NFL executives of the top 10 WRs in football: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/45689023/top-10-nfl-wide-receivers-execs-scouts-2025-espn-jeremy-fowler-position-rankings. There are 26 players on that list that received votes. Only WRs 16 (who will be 33 years old during the season) and WR 24 moved in FA. 

Here is some data from the top 26 WRs in football:

- 13 drafted in round 1

- 7 drafted in round 2

- 3 drafted in round 3

- 1 drafted in round 4

- 2 drafted in round 5 (one of whom was arrested and charged with domestic assault battery for strangling his pregnant girlfriend or he would have went WAY earlier)

- The average draft pick of those 25 (excluding Tyreek) is 41.88!! I don’t have the energy to do this exercise for the other position groups from ESPN but I’d venture to say only QB (maybe OT & DL) would be lower numbers. 

- 23 of the 25 WRs in football (excluding Hill here b/c his draft position was not a function of talent) were picked in the 1st 3 rounds which is what we are using as “high end draft capital.”

- The Bills have picked 1 WR in the top 3 rounds since Josh was picked. It takes prime assets to secure the 2nd most important (based on cost) position in football. That is not a good use of asset allocation. It should be 1 RB and 3 WRs and not the other way around.

 

[Doc Brown]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

% premium draft picks on passing game (i.e. excluding RBs) since taking their QB:

 

1. Ravens 44%

2. Chiefs 38%

3. Bengals 33%

4. Bills 25%

Does that include the 1st we gave up for Diggs?

[GoBills808]

2 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

All of that is true (and I’m generally a HUGE critic) but you really want to keep recycling these guys at the expense of other starting positions? And using your examples Beane has to wait until the crucial drop in the playoff game to find out every year. The Bills extended Shakir and Knox obviously thinking they’re good enough to keep. And there’s a gazillion page thread on extending Cook, on the premise that he’s also good enough to extend. Neither Coleman nor Kincaid are even out of their rookie deals! The Bills roster is chock full of drafted offensive weapons. 

i mean yes we have drafted offensive players

 

im just saying maybe try spending some of the better picks on guys who catch passes, specifically wrs...i don't think that's so controversial

 

 

1 minute ago, Doc Brown said:

Does that include the 1st we gave up for Diggs?

sure if you factor in the opportunity cost of missing Jefferson

[Kirby Jackson]

3 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

All of that is true (and I’m generally a HUGE critic) but you really want to keep recycling these guys at the expense of other starting positions? And using your examples Beane has to wait until the crucial drop in the playoff game to find out every year. The Bills extended Shakir and Knox obviously thinking they’re good enough to keep. And there’s a gazillion page thread on extending Cook, on the premise that he’s also good enough to extend. Neither Coleman nor Kincaid are even out of their rookie deals! The Bills roster is chock full of drafted offensive weapons. 

Every roster is full of drafted offensive weapons. That’s the point. It’s WHEN they were drafted. 3 RBs, 2 TEs, 1 WR in the first 3 rounds isn’t the spread that you want. WRs are WAY more important and harder to find. Prime assets should be allocated to prime positions (QB, WR, pass rush, OT, sometimes CB).